NJ College Students Help Clear 2 Brothers In 1987 Murder

MAHWAH, NJ — Two brothers who served almost 25 years in prison for a murder they didn't commit were released last week with the help of a group of New Jersey college students.

Brothers David and Robert Bintz were found guilty of first-degree murder in 2000 and sentenced to life in prison in connection with the 1987 death of Sandra Lison, whose body was discovered 30 miles away from the Green Bay, Wisconsin, bar where she worked.

While investigators found no forensic evidence tying the brothers to the crime, they were convicted after David Bintz's cellmate told authorities he heard Bintz confess to Lison's murder in his sleep. David Bintz was jailed for another crime at the time.

The Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) Center at Ramapo College in Mahwah was contacted last year to help with the case after the Great North Innocence Project, an organization that works to clear wrongful convictions, was unable to generate any new leads that could exonerate the brothers, the school said in a news release.

Within two days, a team of six students led by IGG Center staff produced a lead.

Based on the lead, the body of William Hendricks was exhumed for DNA testing. The analysis determined that his sample matched the DNA connected to the case.

The state of Wisconsin reopened the case in August, the IGG Center said, and David and Robert Bintz were released from prison last month.

Students at the IGG Center are currently working on 53 cases that include other potential wrongful convictions. While most cases are from New Jersey, the center also offers pro bono work on cases across the United States.